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DEC History and Culture (Digital Equipment Corporation)  (July 19, 2023)

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Main page for former DEC employees -- including pension and stock issues, retiree health program, contacts, employment verification, LinkedIn, more: https://www.hpalumni.org/DEC


Original DEC Business Plan: The DEC Connection has a copy of the 1957 document: Ken Olson's Business Plan

Urban Legend:

Did Ken Olsen say there was "no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home"'?
"Legend. The out-of-context misinterpretation of Olsen's comments has been promulgated for decades. What Olsen was addressing in 1977 was the concept of powerful computers that controlled every aspect of home life. The fear that computers might even try to take charge altogether was widely experienced." --Snopes, the urban legend and misinformation reference site  snopes.com article

Videos and articles:
- Gordon Bell's "CyberMuseum for Digital Equipment Corp Documents, Photo Albums, Talks, and Videotapes"
- Website of Gordon College: http://www.gordon.edu/kenolsen

Where to sell or donate DEC equipment and memorabilia: http://www.decconnection.org/DECdonations.htm

Digital Technical Journal: https://www.hpl.hp.com/hpjournal/journal.html

Articles:

- "Compaq Computer Corp., seeking to expand into the lucrative enterprise computing business, agreed Monday to acquire Digital Equipment Corp. in a blockbuster deal worth $9.6 billion. ... $57.41 a share in cash and stock, well above Friday's closing price of $45.44." Source: CNN Money  Article

- "Lessons from Ken Olsen and Digital Equipment Corp." MIT Sloan Management Review. "How many current Fortune 500 executives will be remembered fondly by their former employees?"
MIT Sloan Management Review

- "Ken Olsen: Faith, Work, And Charity Support A Computing Career" Doris Kilban, Electronic Design
Electronic Design article

- "Computer pioneer Ken Olsen dies" Boston Globe
Boston Globe article

- "Ken Olsen, Who Built DEC Into a Power, Dies at 84" New York Times
New York Times article

- "Ken Olsen Founder Digital Equipment Corp Passes Away" Silicon Angle
Silicon Angle article

DEC Corporate Philosophy:

- Digital Corporate Philosophy (1974)

Books:

- "DEC Is Dead, Long Live DEC: The Lasting Legacy of Digital Equipment Corporation" Edgar H. Schein et al 
Written by an MIT Sloan School management consultant. Focused on the company culture.
Amazon

- "Digital at Work: Snapshots of the First Thirty-Five Years" Jamie Parker Pearson, ed.
Amazon    Amazon

- "The Ultimate Entrepreneur: The Story of Ken Olsen and Digital Equipment Corporation" Glenn Rifkin and George Harrar
Amazon

- "Learn, Earn & Return, My Life as a Computer Pioneer" Harlan E. Anderson. ISBN 0615305458. [DEC badge #2] Amazon

- "Images of America -- Digital Equipment Corporation" (Photos) Alan R Earls. ISBN 1531620914. Amazon

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Ken Olsen 1988

Ken Olsen, 1988

PDP-8 Ad in Scientific American


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